5 ms·

Wouldn't it make sense to just add the license fee/tax at the source of sale, just like electronic waste recycling fee etc.

orange_tee 6y ago
No because it should be per household or per person, not per device.
boomboomsubban 6y ago
In the UK, the fee is £157.50 a year, €160 in Ireland. Any workaround to try and tie it to the point of sale would make buying a TV cost a fortune.
- midasuni 6y ago
  You’d just buy the TV from the north of Ireland did it that way. If U.K. did it that way you’d buy it in the south. In Ireland you could also buy from the rest of the EU.
azornathogron 6y ago
It might. But currently you pay the license fee each year, and it's one license per household. So if it gets bundled in the price of the receiver then you're changing the price model - now if you buy a TV for a spare room you're paying the license fee again, and if you replace your TV earlier than the average you lose out, if you keep your TV for longer than average you win. I expect it could be made to work, but I have no doubt people would complain about it. And the license fee is not a pure private contract - there is government involvement (hence all the political arguing about whether the BBC should be allowed to increase the fee or get rid of the exemption for senior citizens). So if there's a big change that lots of people complain about then it might be blocked for political reasons even if it actually makes sense over all.
- mejutoco 6y ago
  If you share a flat with other people this exact same thing happens. In the german form, at least, you can specify that somebody is already paying for that flat (and you put their details) and they will stop asking.
rtkwe 6y ago
Only for one time fees, most TV Licenses style taxes are recurring. If you try to base it off an 'expected lifetime' you're just guessing how often people will replace the TV and either get under or over charged based on how long they keep devices.
- sjwright 6y ago
  Perhaps you could make it mandatory for a voucher good for 1 year of license to be sold alongside every TV. You can then credit that voucher to your household account. (If you bought more than one new TV per year, your TV license account would be in perpetual credit. I don't see that as a problem.)
  - rtkwe 6y ago
    That's just a tax with extra steps of dealing with the voucher. The average replacement timespan is 7-8 years so what's the point of including it in the first year?
    - sjwright 6y ago
      Increases compliance rate, reduces losses from non-compliance, improves monitoring/statistics around non-compliance.
sys_64738 6y ago
When you bought a new TV or video recorder then you used to have to supply your name and address. The selling business had to provide that info to the TV Licensing body by law. This was the mid-90s so it might have changed. I remember paying 300 quid for a VCR and giving them a fake name and address before leaving with my JVC under my arm.
- new299 6y ago
  Not since 2013 it seems: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/business-and-organisations/tv-dealers-aud18?WT.mc_id=r033&x=0 https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/business...

orange_tee 6y ago

No because it should be per household or per person, not per device.

boomboomsubban 6y ago

In the UK, the fee is £157.50 a year, €160 in Ireland. Any workaround to try and tie it to the point of sale would make buying a TV cost a fortune.

midasuni 6y ago
You’d just buy the TV from the north of Ireland did it that way. If U.K. did it that way you’d buy it in the south. In Ireland you could also buy from the rest of the EU.

azornathogron 6y ago

It might. But currently you pay the license fee each year, and it's one license per household. So if it gets bundled in the price of the receiver then you're changing the price model - now if you buy a TV for a spare room you're paying the license fee again, and if you replace your TV earlier than the average you lose out, if you keep your TV for longer than average you win. I expect it could be made to work, but I have no doubt people would complain about it. And the license fee is not a pure private contract - there is government involvement (hence all the political arguing about whether the BBC should be allowed to increase the fee or get rid of the exemption for senior citizens). So if there's a big change that lots of people complain about then it might be blocked for political reasons even if it actually makes sense over all.

mejutoco 6y ago
If you share a flat with other people this exact same thing happens. In the german form, at least, you can specify that somebody is already paying for that flat (and you put their details) and they will stop asking.

rtkwe 6y ago

Only for one time fees, most TV Licenses style taxes are recurring. If you try to base it off an 'expected lifetime' you're just guessing how often people will replace the TV and either get under or over charged based on how long they keep devices.

sjwright 6y ago
Perhaps you could make it mandatory for a voucher good for 1 year of license to be sold alongside every TV. You can then credit that voucher to your household account. (If you bought more than one new TV per year, your TV license account would be in perpetual credit. I don't see that as a problem.)
- rtkwe 6y ago
  That's just a tax with extra steps of dealing with the voucher. The average replacement timespan is 7-8 years so what's the point of including it in the first year?
  - sjwright 6y ago
    Increases compliance rate, reduces losses from non-compliance, improves monitoring/statistics around non-compliance.

sys_64738 6y ago

When you bought a new TV or video recorder then you used to have to supply your name and address. The selling business had to provide that info to the TV Licensing body by law. This was the mid-90s so it might have changed. I remember paying 300 quid for a VCR and giving them a fake name and address before leaving with my JVC under my arm.

new299 6y ago
Not since 2013 it seems: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/business-and-organisations/tv-dealers-aud18?WT.mc_id=r033&x=0 https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/business...